European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On a Roll continued irom Page 13 have a food of disease or in accidents. However the Agency is Quick 1o Nole thai it s at least As Sale to be a Volunteer Aslo slay in the United slates. James Cusenza s peace corps Saint which started in 1964, was closer to the popular image. He was in the Middle of Ifie chilean desert in an of Adobe House who no running in scr. To slept on a col in n Dirl floor infested by disease carrying Chaga bugs he decided to join the peace corps lha Day Kennedy a is , i m an immigrant to this country irom Tunisia and to to Kennedy represented everything i thought America should stand  says Cusenza 46, now an executive at Sebastian internal tonal a hair care company in Woodland hits Cam. " when Kennedy was shot. I said. Whal can i do to make a Dieter once in the wild because thai was a Low Point in America s Imago flesh Myers. 41, who served in the Philippines irom 1967 to 1969, was also ally acted to the peace corps to Coniel anti american sentiment. I re queued Southeast Asia i had the feeling i would rather be part of something positive in thai pan of Iho world than something  says Myers who taught English As a second language. She teels she was largely successful As a Good will ambassador bul Otten found herself typecast As an ugly american wit would be in a school meeting and people would say you americans Are All such and such i was a Symbol rather than my own person. That happened repeatedly and that was hard to  says Myers who now coordinates an adopt lion program for special children in Oregon. Cusanza suffered Miliar attacks. When . Marines invaded the dominican Republic under president Lyndon Johnson a caught leak for America s politics. Thai was a very difficult Lime for me remembers Cusenza. Who was working or the Institute of Rural education in Chile. The Way i dealt with it. Was by saying everything our government does in t Good and mis indeed was very stupid then t went about my usual business. By being apolitical you can change the world s View of America and i think we were Able to do  in Olhs countries there were incidents where peace lore Miller Tupot current peace Carpi director. Corps workers were actively political. When vice president Spiro aglow visited Afghanistan peace corps stall and volunteers greeted him with rousing anti Americast chants. Secretary of slate William Rogers received a Sam liar Welcome on a visit to Tunisia. Peace corps activists demonstrated against the ruling regimes of several latin american nations. A number of countries asked our volunteers to leave says Joseph Blatchford. Director from 1969 to 1972. Some accused Hare was a Cia link a charge that was never proven. One return Volunteer remembers the mood of the names As lost a Tot of people were draft dodgers i hey weren t there to change the world says Rebecca Ritey 39, a Volunteer in Liberia from 1966 to 1972. Her projects included teaching in a Rural country school and working on Rice Paddy development Sargent Shriver the peace corps first father by Iris Krasnow United press International s Argent Shriver had his work Cut out Morhim. President Kennedy made a Campaign Promise to establish a peace corps Anda or he was elected he passed the ban this brother in Law. An energetic 45, Shriver look of across the world to Pilch i to idealistic dream to the leaders of India Ghana Nigeria and Burma. Jawn Arlala Nehru was enthusiastic right from the Stan said Shriver now 70. In a recent interview in Washington. He wanted 500 volunteers All Over India but Kwame Nkrumah. The Man who created Ghana was Raiher Coo to the Western countries. He was playing Footsie Wilh the russians at the  Shriver s Way of convincing Nkrumah was by making a Deal to put some four dozen ghanaian schoolteachers in the United states ii the West african country would accept the same number Tram the peace corps. After a Lough bul successful whirl through the third world Shriver came Home to sell a sceptical Congress each Man. One on  when we started there were Only about three or four people on the foreign a flairs committee of the House of representatives who were in Tavor of the peace corps. There were 20 against it or Neutral. It was a Challenge to convince therm. It was exciting. And it  by september 1861. The peace corps sent its first group of 52 teachers to Ghana. Within 10 months i had 750 volunteers in nine countries and three years later it had 7,000 volunteers in 44 countries. It was sort of like the Wrighi Brothers must have Felt said Shriver. You do a Tot o work on it but you Don t really know it it will Fly until suddenly it  Shriver laughed Whon asked if he was criticized for getting a government Job rom a family member. Getting the peace corps was not like being made Secretary of  now he is a Enior partner in the Washington Law firm of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson. Nobody thought the peace corps was Worth a Damn. It was t thought of As a poetical Plum. In fact when Jack Kennedy gave me that Job he came up with that quip t gave Sarge a Lemon and a made lemonade " i was working 24 hours for the . Government a no pay said Shriver who is also president of the special olympics. This was a $1-a-year Job you see my brother in Law was president and one of the things that was t thought to be very Kosher in those old Days was taking jobs for pay Given by your  while he was the peace corps first director and in subsequent years Shriver went on to create head Start Foster grandparents and the Job corps. He sees a pressing need for the peace corps to be a what was considered a corps of love children during Kennedy s new Frontier was by the Early 70s nought of by Washington As a cadre of marijuana laced hippies and the Agency almost went out of business the peace corps budget was Cul by sen. William Fulbright dark. Head of the Senate foreign relations committee and rep. Olio Passman o-la., head of the House appropriations subcommittee on foreign Aid. A group of people in Congress did t want any foreign Aid during the War says Blatchford 51, a partner in lha Washington Law firm of o Connor and Hannan. Others Felt the peace corps was All pot smokers. And there was t a Kennedy around to lobby for  ironically. 1 was conservative republicans who saved Kennedy s corps. Senator Barry Goldwater ft-ariz., and Charles Percy Roll. Issuer fund restoration amendments and to counteract Cus made by Passman s committee Nixon look s2.6 million from one of his contingency funds to keep the volunteers overseas. When in 1971 Nixon shifted the peace corps irom the state department and folded it into action an umbrella Tor several Volunteer organizations the move was interpreted As an attempt to Bury it. Blatchford Calls it a bad  Nixon had no intention of killing the peace corps. He spent More time on the peace corps than any president except  changes made under Blatchford form the prototype of today s peace corps. Whal was named at the time a new direction included recruiting older americans doing away with the College degree requirement encouraging More married couples and kids and stressing the need Lor spec Alisis working with the handicapped is one of our priorities now says Pat Seaman a spokeswoman for. The Agency. We have handicapped volunteers some Are Blind or deat one woman in Ecuador who is Blind has been teaching mobility for the  handicapped training is not always a priority n third world countries she adds bul after Volunteer efforts several countries have started or increased their own  it 1981, the peace corps came out from under the umbrella Agency action and was reestablished As an Independent Antty. Despite a Rocky history there Are lasting nuggets of change lha Agency has implemented worldwide. Volunteers have helped eliminate malaria in Thailand tuberculosis in Bolivia and Malawi. In Costa Rica. Page 14 the stars and stripes Pretl Junt John f. Kennedy with Sargemt stud str it t higher priority for the Wale House and Congress. It s the Best investment in foreign activity the . Government can make yet the peace corps budget is exactly the same in dollars As when i left in 1965," Shriver says. We have built up our capacity to kill people. We 3� have built up our capacity 10 dominate people. We Jtj to sunday of few